Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made a bold prediction for the upcoming IPL 2024 auction. Ashwin believes that couple of franchises are going to break the bank for the uncapped batter Shahrukh Khan in the upcoming mini-IPL 2024 auction after being released by the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Shahrukh was recently released by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) after being bought for INR 9 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction, as he failed to live up to expectations in the IPL 2023. He has so far played 33 IPL matches and amassed 426 runs at an average of 20.29 with a strike rate of 134.81.
Well, Ashwin, who has played with the young batter for Tamil Nadu, believes that he will attract big bids again. The veteran off-spinner further predicted that there will be a war between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at the auction, and he might be sold for more than his previous price.
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Ashwin further said that even CSK might let go of Australia’s 2023 World Cup winner Mitchell Starc to get Shahrukh, as they would really want to have a local player in the upcoming season.
R Ashwin said in a video posted on his YouTube Channel: “I can definitely see a war between CSK and GT for Shahrukh Khan because Gujarat have just lost middle batter/finisher Hardik and they need a power player. Shahrukh was at the Punjab Kings at ₹9 crores, and I felt he showed his skills pretty well. Is it a decent release? Because I think he is going to go for at least ₹12 or ₹13 crore again.”
He added, “CSK might even take a chance of missing out on Mitchell Starc to get Shahrukh Khan because they don’t have a local player or a presence. They went for Shahrukh Khan in the mega auction, and that’s why I’m guessing so.”
Notably, the IPL 2024 mini-auction will be held on December 19 in Dubai.
(With News18 Inputs)
